An explosion hit the Southern Damascus district of Sayeda Zainab. Five people were killed and more than twenty wounded, including children.
ISIS has claimed the IED attack in Sayeda Zainab district, its 3rd claim in Damascus city area since Sept 2021 second since May. This was ISIS first attack since 2016 in a pro-Assad (Shia) stronghold.
Authorities had initially said the IED was hidden in a taxi, but later reported that the explosives were on a motorcycle that exploded next to the cab.
Syrian Health Minister Hassan al-Ghabash said in a statement that 26 people wounded in the blast in the Sayeda Zainab neighborhood were being treated at several hospitals. Twenty others were treated on site or discharged, he said.
The Britain-based opposition war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that a woman was among those who died and that her three children were wounded. The Observatory said the explosion occurred close to positions of Iranian militias, a key ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad alongside Russia in Syria’s civil conflict now in its 13th year.
Photos shared by pro-government media show a charred taxi surrounded by large crowds of people and men in military fatigues. In a video shared on social media, people carried two men covered in blood and dust off the ground while calling for help. The glass facades of shops nearby had shattered, while one was on fire.
The explosion was the second in the Sayeda Zainab neighborhood in the days leading to Ashoura. On Tuesday, Syrian state media citing a police official said that two civilians were wounded when a motorcycle laced with explosives was detonated.
